Flyer campaign seeks owner in Seattle pit bull attack

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SEATTLE -- The off-leash area at Magnuson Park is a slice of doggie heaven, but play time put one pooch in the hospital when she crossed paths with a pit bull.

"He just walked over and grabbed her and then he wouldn't let go," Rebecca Wager said, adding that her dog Sadie was taken by surprise. "He just clamped on and started shaking her."

Wager says Sadie was sitting quietly on a rock Friday evening when the big dog walked up and chomped down on her neck. The Seattle woman said the pit bull then bit her and her roommate. Wager ended up with deep puncture wounds on one hand. Her roommate suffered a broken finger.

Just then, other people at the park jumped in to help, and after a short struggle, freed Sadie from her attacker. Wager said the pit bull's owner quickly leashed her dog and left without talking to anyone.

"We never saw her again, and she didn't come back to figure out if we were OK, or what had happened," Wager said.

Animal control officers say it's a crime to put the public at risk by not controlling your dog, but the law is vague as to whether you can leave a dog bite scene without trading information.

"At a minimum, it's about being a responsible citizen, a responsible dog owner," said Don Jordan with the Seattle Animal Shelter.

Jordan says his animal control officers are now patrolling Magnuson Park, looking for the pit bull or its owner.

"What we want to do is determine whether the dog is vaccinated," Jordan said. "Is there any past aggressive history with the animal?"

Wager is now posting flyers at the park describing the pit bull and its owner. She says she wants to save the next dog from experiencing what Sadie suffered.

"It was pretty scary," Wager said.

The dog is described as a gray with a white stripe on his chest. His owner is a woman in her 20s, possibly Asian or Philippino. She has long dark hair and stands about 5'4.

Seattle averages about 250 dog bite reports every year. One in five are blamed on pit bulls.